Recycling & Trash
Food Scraps Recycling
Food Scraps Recycling: Since 2016, the Como Community Council has helped coordinate a 24-hour organics recycling drop-off site in Como Park, on Beulah Lane, just west of McMurray Fields. This is a cooperative project with Ramsey County, Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, Saint Paul Public Works, and the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board. The site is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience.
- We have a volunteer team that stocks the Beulah Lane site with extra compostable bags (over 70k bags/year!), but this is a convenience and not a guarantee.
- BPI-certified compostable bags are available at many stores. Here’s a list of brands & stores in Minnesota.
See a list of what organics you can and cannot recycle at the Beulah Ln. site.
Note: Ramsey County has discontinued food scraps recycling kit bins as they prepare to roll out their new at-home food scraps pick-up program.
Free Electronics Recycling
Ramsey County residents looking to get rid of laptops, televisions, cell phones or other electronics now have a free and easy way to recycle them. Ramsey County Environmental Health has a new collection site where county residents can drop off unwanted electronics (e-waste) which will be refurbished or recycled into new products.
Electronics (E-waste) Collection Site
Repowered
860 Vandalia Street
Saint Paul, MN 55114
Learn more about e-waste recycling now available to Ramsey County residents and to check which items are accepted at ramseycounty.us/electronics
All data from electronics dropped off at the e-waste site will be destroyed physically or electronically wiped.
Used and old electronics are the fastest-growing waste in the country and often contain toxic metals like lead, mercury and cadmium. Ramsey County Environmental Health is partnering with Repowered to reuse or refurbish unwanted electronics, and to keep toxic metals out of the environment.
Battery Disposal
If it lights up, makes noise or moves without a plug, it has a battery! Batteries make our daily lives more convenient. Once they are used, though, they must be disposed of properly.
If thrown in the trash or recycling, batteries can catch fire and pose a threat to people and property. Some batteries also contain toxic metals, such as cadmium, lead or mercury, which can pose a threat to health and the environment.
Be a Battery Hero!
Put batteries in their place by taking them to a drop-off facility.
What Happens to Batteries Collected at Drop-Off Facilities?
Batteries collected at drop-off locations are sent to processing facilities where valuable metals are recovered from them. These metals are then used to make products such as pots and pans, new batteries and even golf clubs!
What About Alkaline Batteries?
Common alkaline batteries are acceptable to throw in the trash, but they are easily confused with other types of batteries, including rechargeable batteries and lithium batteries, which can cause fires in the trash or recycling. With so many different types of batteries in use these days, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington counties encourage residents to bring all batteries to drop-off sites for safe disposal.
Year-Round Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off – St. Paul
Bay West – 5 Empire Dr, St Paul, MN 55103
Residential Recycling
Household Recycling: The City of Saint Paul contracts with Eureka Recycling, which is a local nonprofit, to recycle paper, many plastics, cans, and fabrics. Recycling day in District 10 is Friday; carts should be in their pickup location by 7 a.m. (For most homes, pickup is in your alley; however, for some homes, pickup is curbside.)
- All residents automatically receive a 64-gallon cart.
- If you want to swap that for a larger, 95-gallon cart or a smaller, 32-gallon cart, call Eureka at 651-222-SORT (7678).
- Residents can set out extra materials, outside of the cart any time, not just after a missed collection. Limit is 6 paper grocery bags or 3 medium size boxes. Set next to the cart with some space. Eureka will empty the cart, put extras inside the cart and tip it again.
- Use Eureka’s What Can I Recycle app for any questions you have about what’s recyclable.
- The City of Saint Paul manages home recycling customer service issues (missed pickups, broken carts, etc)
- Use the city’s online form to communicate issues
- Or call 651-266-6199
- Or email recyclingprogram@ci.stpaul.mn.us
For more recycling information:- stpaul.gov/recycle
- RamseyRecycles.com
- or call 651-633-EASY
For more recycling information:Apartment Recycling:
Get Involved!
There are many ways to get involved with recycling and litter clean-up in our community, here are a few:
- Come Clean! Programs
- To help address the ongoing problem of trash and litter in our community, the city is encouraging community members to help clean, beautify, and improve their neighborhoods. Clean neighborhoods benefit everyone!
- The City of St. Paul offers numerous ways to support residents who want to collect and prevent litter in their neighborhoods. To participate, you can find more info and complete the Come Clean! Program Application here.
- D10 Como Park hosts multiple Como Lake Clean-Up events each year.
Come Clean! Programs
Plastic bags and plastic wrap get tangled in equipment at recycling sorting facilities. Workers have to shut down equipment and spend hours each day removing them. Plastic bags and plastic wrap can be recycled if brought back to a retail drop-off location.Recycle Smart, do your part to reduce and recycle plastic bags/plastic wrap. Bring reusable bags with you when shopping or choose paper bags. For food storage, use wax wraps, reusable covers, or washable containers. Plastic bags and plastic wrap can also be recycled by bringing them to a drop-off location. Find drop-off locations at PlasticFilmRecycling.org.
Whether you’re grilling out or gearing up for a camping trip, remember that it is illegal to put propane tanks, helium tanks, and other pressurized cylinders in your recycling or garbage carts. Cylinders and tanks contain a compressed gas which makes them explosive and a potential fire hazard. They are extremely dangerous for workers collecting and sorting recyclables.Empty, non-hazardous metal aerosol cans such as cooking spray and hairspray, can be placed in recycling containers.
Recycle Smart and do your part by properly disposing of all propane tanks. Bring all pressurized gas cylinders and tanks to the Ramsey County Hazardous Waste Collection site for free.
Clothes, linens, and other textiles should never be placed in your recycling container! These items cause serious issues at recycling facilities by tangling in sorting equipment. Workers have to shut down the equipment to cut these items loose. This puts them in danger and slows down the recycling process. Unfortunately, there are also few markets for turning these non-reusable textiles into new products.Clothes, linens, and textiles that are in good condition can be donated to a variety of businesses for resale or for those in need. Find a companies who accept these items at RamseyRecycles.com/AtoZ. For items that are beyond use, consider turning the material into rags. Otherwise, non-reusable materials should be placed in your garbage container.
Plastic lawn furniture, laundry baskets, storage bins, plastic toys, and other large plastic items can't be recycled in your recycling cart. Recycling facilities are not designed to handle these types of plastic items. They are difficult to sort at recycling facilities and there are no good markets to turn them into new products.Recycle Smart and do your part by purchasing high-quality items, using them for as long as possible, and donating items that are in good shape when you're ready to get rid of them. Broken items can be placed in your garbage container.
Needles and syringes should never be placed in your recycling cart. Prevent injuries and disease transmission by disposing of these items safely through one of the following options:- -Participate in a collection program through your healthcare provider.
- -Participate in mail-back programs through sharps recyclers.
- -Bring your sharps to the Ramsey County drop-off facility for proper recycling.
- -Purchase a sharps needle destruction device for your home to bend, break, incinerate, or shear sharps.
Plastic utensils and straws are too small and difficult to sort at recycling facilities and there is no market for these items to be turned into new products. Additionally, if these items are littered, they make their way to waterways where they can harm the environment, including animals and humans.Recycle Smart and do your part to avoid plastic utensils and straws. Choose not to use them or choose reusable options instead.
Paper cups and plates cannot be recycled because they are often lined with plastic or contaminated with food. Unlined paper plates, napkins, and paper towels can be composted by collecting them separately and taking them to a local organics recycling drop-off site.Lined paper items must state they are “compostable” and/or have the BPI logo on them to identify that they have been certified to fully and safely break down in the composting process. If you’re unsure if an item is certified for compostability, check BPI’s website or put the item in the garbage.
Recycle Smart and avoid using disposable paper plates and cups by choosing reusable options instead. If you need to use disposables, purchase compostable products and drop them off with your food scraps at one of many organics recycling collection sites around the City. Find everything you need to know at RamseyRecycles.com/FoodScraps.
Keep "tanglers" like cords, hoses, and string lights out of your recycling cart. These items, along with plastic bags, get wrapped around equipment at recycling facilities and workers spend hours every day removing these items from the machinery. This is both dangerous and time-consuming.Electrical cords and string lights can be recycled by bringing them to a local recycling center. Plastic bags can also be recycled when taken to a participating businesses, such as Cub or Target. Hoses and strings should be placed in your garbage. Search the Ramsey County Disposal Guide if you have other potential tanglers that you’re not sure what to do with.
Random metal items such as pots and pans, pipes, hangers, and tools can damage equipment and harm workers at recycling sorting facilities. Do not place these items in your recycling cart. Recycle Smart and do your part by taking random metal items to a scrap metal recycler.These items can also be taken to a local scrap-metal recycling business. Call ahead for public drop-off information.
- - Advanced Disposal – Saint Paul (651-487-8546)
- - EMR Northern Metal Recycling – Saint Paul (651-224-4877)
- - J & J Recycling – Saint Paul (651-227-4457)
- - Metro Metals Recycling – Saint Paul (651-641-0977)
- - Twin Cities Refuse and Recycling – Saint Paul (651-227-1549)
Recycle Smart, keep shredded paper out of your @CityofSaintPaul recycling cart! Shredded paper can either be bagged and placed in your garbage cart or dropped off for recycling at one of many local shredding businesses: Ramsey County Paper Shredding Business List.
Make sure your recyclables are placed loose in your recycling cart. Recyclables in plastic bags don’t get properly sorted at the recycling facility and often end up in the garbage. Remember to not put any plastic bags in your recycling cart. Recycle smart and do your part by putting your recyclables loose in your recycling cart.
Styrofoam™ (#6 plastic) and black plastic to-go containers cannot be recycled because they are an unmarketable plastic. Paper to-go containers cannot be recycled because they are often lined with plastic film or contaminated with food. Certified compostable containers and paper plates, napkins, and paper towels can be composted through the Ramsey County Organics Recycling program or an organics recycling drop-off site but cannot be recycled.All black plastics, and to-go containers that are made of #6 plastic (either foam or hard plastic) are not recyclable in our program. The equipment used at recycling facilities cannot sort or detect black plastics. There are no markets that can use #6 or black plastics.
Batteries and electronics can damage equipment and harm workers collecting and sorting your recycling. Batteries are especially dangerous as they can start fires at recycling sorting facilities.Recycle Smart and do your part to properly recycle electronics and batteries. Some of these items can be brought to a Citywide Drop-off event, find alternative disposal options below.
- Larger electronics, such as TVs, computer monitors and computer towers: Residents with Citywide Garbage Service may have these collected as a bulky item. Contact your garbage hauler to schedule a pickup. Find more info here.
- Household batteries: These items are not accepted in residential recycling or garbage collection programs. Drop these off at the Ramsey County Hazardous Waste site or an alternate battery recycler.
- Electronic items: Items with batteries that you cannot remove, such as certain cell phones, e-cigs, and electronic toothbrushes should be taken to an electronics recycler. Find disposal options here.
Recycle Smart and do your part to properly recycle electronics and batteries. Find details about Garbage Service bulky item collections, Citywide Drop-off Events, and HHW disposal options at stpaul.gov/recycle.
Plastic bags and plastic wrap get tangled in equipment at recycling sorting facilities. Workers have to shut down equipment and spend hours each day removing them. Plastic bags and plastic wrap can be recycled if brought back to a retail drop-off location.Recycle Smart, do your part to reduce and recycle plastic bags/plastic wrap. Bring reusable bags with you when shopping or choose paper bags. For food storage, use wax wraps, reusable covers, or washable containers. Plastic bags and plastic wrap can also be recycled by bringing them to a drop-off location. Find drop-off locations at PlasticFilmRecycling.org.
Whether you’re grilling out or gearing up for a camping trip, remember that it is illegal to put propane tanks, helium tanks, and other pressurized cylinders in your recycling or garbage carts. Cylinders and tanks contain a compressed gas which makes them explosive and a potential fire hazard. They are extremely dangerous for workers collecting and sorting recyclables.Empty, non-hazardous metal aerosol cans such as cooking spray and hairspray, can be placed in recycling containers.
Recycle Smart and do your part by properly disposing of all propane tanks. Bring all pressurized gas cylinders and tanks to the Ramsey County Hazardous Waste Collection site for free.
Clothes, linens, and other textiles should never be placed in your recycling container! These items cause serious issues at recycling facilities by tangling in sorting equipment. Workers have to shut down the equipment to cut these items loose. This puts them in danger and slows down the recycling process. Unfortunately, there are also few markets for turning these non-reusable textiles into new products.Clothes, linens, and textiles that are in good condition can be donated to a variety of businesses for resale or for those in need. Find a companies who accept these items at RamseyRecycles.com/AtoZ. For items that are beyond use, consider turning the material into rags. Otherwise, non-reusable materials should be placed in your garbage container.
Plastic lawn furniture, laundry baskets, storage bins, plastic toys, and other large plastic items can't be recycled in your recycling cart. Recycling facilities are not designed to handle these types of plastic items. They are difficult to sort at recycling facilities and there are no good markets to turn them into new products.Recycle Smart and do your part by purchasing high-quality items, using them for as long as possible, and donating items that are in good shape when you're ready to get rid of them. Broken items can be placed in your garbage container.
Needles and syringes should never be placed in your recycling cart. Prevent injuries and disease transmission by disposing of these items safely through one of the following options:- -Participate in a collection program through your healthcare provider.
- -Participate in mail-back programs through sharps recyclers.
- -Bring your sharps to the Ramsey County drop-off facility for proper recycling.
- -Purchase a sharps needle destruction device for your home to bend, break, incinerate, or shear sharps.
Plastic utensils and straws are too small and difficult to sort at recycling facilities and there is no market for these items to be turned into new products. Additionally, if these items are littered, they make their way to waterways where they can harm the environment, including animals and humans.Recycle Smart and do your part to avoid plastic utensils and straws. Choose not to use them or choose reusable options instead.
Paper cups and plates cannot be recycled because they are often lined with plastic or contaminated with food. Unlined paper plates, napkins, and paper towels can be composted by collecting them separately and taking them to a local organics recycling drop-off site.Lined paper items must state they are “compostable” and/or have the BPI logo on them to identify that they have been certified to fully and safely break down in the composting process. If you’re unsure if an item is certified for compostability, check BPI’s website or put the item in the garbage.
Recycle Smart and avoid using disposable paper plates and cups by choosing reusable options instead. If you need to use disposables, purchase compostable products and drop them off with your food scraps at one of many organics recycling collection sites around the City. Find everything you need to know at RamseyRecycles.com/FoodScraps.
Keep "tanglers" like cords, hoses, and string lights out of your recycling cart. These items, along with plastic bags, get wrapped around equipment at recycling facilities and workers spend hours every day removing these items from the machinery. This is both dangerous and time-consuming.Electrical cords and string lights can be recycled by bringing them to a local recycling center. Plastic bags can also be recycled when taken to a participating businesses, such as Cub or Target. Hoses and strings should be placed in your garbage. Search the Ramsey County Disposal Guide if you have other potential tanglers that you’re not sure what to do with.
Random metal items such as pots and pans, pipes, hangers, and tools can damage equipment and harm workers at recycling sorting facilities. Do not place these items in your recycling cart. Recycle Smart and do your part by taking random metal items to a scrap metal recycler.These items can also be taken to a local scrap-metal recycling business. Call ahead for public drop-off information.
- - Advanced Disposal – Saint Paul (651-487-8546)
- - EMR Northern Metal Recycling – Saint Paul (651-224-4877)
- - J & J Recycling – Saint Paul (651-227-4457)
- - Metro Metals Recycling – Saint Paul (651-641-0977)
- - Twin Cities Refuse and Recycling – Saint Paul (651-227-1549)
Recycle Smart, keep shredded paper out of your @CityofSaintPaul recycling cart! Shredded paper can either be bagged and placed in your garbage cart or dropped off for recycling at one of many local shredding businesses: Ramsey County Paper Shredding Business List.
Make sure your recyclables are placed loose in your recycling cart. Recyclables in plastic bags don’t get properly sorted at the recycling facility and often end up in the garbage. Remember to not put any plastic bags in your recycling cart. Recycle smart and do your part by putting your recyclables loose in your recycling cart.
Styrofoam™ (#6 plastic) and black plastic to-go containers cannot be recycled because they are an unmarketable plastic. Paper to-go containers cannot be recycled because they are often lined with plastic film or contaminated with food. Certified compostable containers and paper plates, napkins, and paper towels can be composted through the Ramsey County Organics Recycling program or an organics recycling drop-off site but cannot be recycled.All black plastics, and to-go containers that are made of #6 plastic (either foam or hard plastic) are not recyclable in our program. The equipment used at recycling facilities cannot sort or detect black plastics. There are no markets that can use #6 or black plastics.
Batteries and electronics can damage equipment and harm workers collecting and sorting your recycling. Batteries are especially dangerous as they can start fires at recycling sorting facilities.Recycle Smart and do your part to properly recycle electronics and batteries. Some of these items can be brought to a Citywide Drop-off event, find alternative disposal options below.
- Larger electronics, such as TVs, computer monitors and computer towers: Residents with Citywide Garbage Service may have these collected as a bulky item. Contact your garbage hauler to schedule a pickup. Find more info here.
- Household batteries: These items are not accepted in residential recycling or garbage collection programs. Drop these off at the Ramsey County Hazardous Waste site or an alternate battery recycler.
- Electronic items: Items with batteries that you cannot remove, such as certain cell phones, e-cigs, and electronic toothbrushes should be taken to an electronics recycler. Find disposal options here.
Recycle Smart and do your part to properly recycle electronics and batteries. Find details about Garbage Service bulky item collections, Citywide Drop-off Events, and HHW disposal options at stpaul.gov/recycle.
Residential Trash
Household trash: On Oct. 1, 2018, Saint Paul began coordinated trash collection for every single-family home, duplex, and apartment building up to four units. In short, the city assigns a specific hauler to pick up trash on a specific day, depending on where you live. Before that, property owners were responsible for finding their own hauler for trash service.
In most of Como, trash is picked up on Fridays, the same day as recycling. For residents who live west of Hamline and north of Jessamine, trash is picked up on Mondays (recycling is still picked up on Fridays). See the city’s map for details on your trash day and designated hauler. Residents have four service options (prices include tax and other fees):
- 32-gallon cart, picked up every other week: $62.48 per quarter, 2 annual bulky item pickups
- 32-gallon cart, picked up every week: $74.35 per quarter, 2 annual bulky item pickups
- 64-gallon cart, picked up every week: $104.26 per quarter, 3 annual bulky item pickups
- 96-gallon cart, picked up every week: $116.39 per quarter, 3 annual bulky item pickups
Bills are sent quarterly in advance. Property owners are responsible for the bill. In addition, an administrative fee of $33 per year is added to property tax bills.
For complete details on how coordinated collection works, see the city’s Garbage web page. For questions, call your hauler or call the city at 651-266-6101.
Citywide Drop-Off Events: Saint Paul typically holds four citywide drop-off events each summer so residents can affordably and legally dispose of large items, electronics, construction debris, and other junk that does not fit or does not belong in the trash. The Como Community Council typically organizes one of these events in September at the State Fairgrounds.
All drop-off events are on Saturdays, and are open to any city resident from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. See the city’s All-In website for details, including what you can dispose of and what it will cost.
General Disposal Information: For other information and answers on how to best reuse, recycle, or properly dispose of any household item (including yard waste and household hazardous waste), call the Ramsey County Recycling and Disposal 24/7 Hotline at 651-633-EASY (3279), or browse the Ramsey Recycles website. The county site has extensive details in several categories, plus an A to Z recycling guide.